Collecting more slowly as sales decline
53 companies have increased accounts receivable in each of the last three years while revenue declined over the same period.
Receivables should track revenue. When revenue falls and receivables keep rising, the money owed is growing relative to the business generating it, and there are only a few explanations.
The mildest is customer mix: a shift towards larger customers who negotiate longer payment terms. The next is deliberate -- extending credit to support sales, which works and then eventually does not. The one that matters is collection difficulty, where the receivable exists on the balance sheet but the cash is not coming.
The reason to watch this is that the write-off, when it comes, hits earnings in a single period, and by then it is history. The divergence is visible years earlier in exactly this comparison.
What this is usually called
The standard measure is days sales outstanding, or DSO -- receivables divided by revenue and multiplied by 365 -- and a rising DSO is described as a deterioration in collection or in receivables quality. The reserve against uncollectible amounts is the allowance for doubtful accounts, now usually presented under the expected credit loss model, and a write-off is a bad debt expense.
The question, as a query
Below is the query as a reader would type it. Edit the numbers to move the threshold and the answer changes with them.
INCREASED(receivables,3,3) AND DECLINED(revenue,3)| Company | Revenue | Net income | Gross margin | Free cash flow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ETEnergy Transfer LP | $85.54B | $4.43B | 25.8% | Unavailable |
| NKENIKE, Inc. | $46.40B | $3.11B | 42.9% | $2.18B |
| MOALTRIA GROUP, INC. | $23.28B | $6.95B | 62.5% | $9.07B |
| CDWCDW Corp | $22.42B | $1.07B | 21.7% | $1.09B |
| CTVACorteva, Inc. | $17.40B | $1.09B | 47.3% | Unavailable |
| JBLUJETBLUE AIRWAYS CORP | $9.06B | -$602.00M | Unavailable | Unavailable |
| AVYAvery Dennison Corp | $8.86B | $688.00M | 28.8% | $712.40M |
| NSITINSIGHT ENTERPRISES INC | $8.25B | $157.35M | 21.4% | $279.31M |
| CLXCLOROX CO /DE/ | $7.10B | $810.00M | 45.2% | $761.00M |
| NTAPNetApp, Inc. | $6.24B | $1.28B | 78.5% | $1.87B |
| ILMNILLUMINA, INC. | $4.34B | $850.00M | 66.1% | $931.00M |
| TRMBTRIMBLE INC. | $3.59B | $424.00M | 69.1% | $360.90M |
| SBGISinclair, Inc. | $3.17B | -$112.00M | Unavailable | $115.00M |
| WMSADVANCED DRAINAGE SYSTEMS, INC. | $3.05B | $426.46M | 38.3% | $569.29M |
| AMG Broker-dealerAFFILIATED MANAGERS GROUP, INC. | $2.07B | $716.60M | Unavailable | $967.10M |
| DNUTKrispy Kreme, Inc. | $1.52B | -$515.77M | Unavailable | -$64.00M |
| WHWYNDHAM HOTELS & RESORTS, INC. | $1.43B | $193.00M | Unavailable | $321.00M |
| WD BankWalker & Dunlop, Inc. | $1.23B | $56.25M | Unavailable | Unavailable |
| SPWHSPORTSMAN'S WAREHOUSE HOLDINGS, INC. | $1.21B | -$50.06M | 30.9% | $8.88M |
| TRLVTrulieve Cannabis Corp. | $1.18B | Unavailable | 60.2% | $228.63M |
| HAYWHayward Holdings, Inc. | $1.12B | $151.57M | 48.0% | $227.32M |
| RGENREPLIGEN CORP | $738.26M | $48.89M | 52.3% | $93.90M |
| LCUTLIFETIME BRANDS, INC | $647.93M | -$26.94M | 37.1% | $3.25M |
| MQMarqeta, Inc. | $624.88M | -$13.92M | 70.0% | $160.79M |
| AKAA.K.A. BRANDS HOLDING CORP. | $600.21M | -$31.43M | Unavailable | -$633.00K |
| BDNBRANDYWINE REALTY TRUST | $484.45M | -$178.25M | 61.8% | Unavailable |
| BARKBark, Inc. | $394.84M | -$39.01M | 61.3% | Unavailable |
| ASLEAerSale Corp | $335.29M | $8.58M | 31.5% | -$29.05M |
| BDCOBLUE DOLPHIN ENERGY CO | $279.38M | -$5.60M | 3.1% | -$779.00K |
| VNDAVanda Pharmaceuticals Inc. | $216.10M | -$220.47M | Unavailable | -$110.44M |
| AHRTAH Realty Trust, Inc. | $209.94M | $5.60M | Unavailable | Unavailable |
| DRTTFDIRTT ENVIRONMENTAL SOLUTIONS LTD | $168.86M | -$14.45M | 32.8% | -$1.77M |
| ITHUFiANTHUS CAPITAL HOLDINGS, INC. | $143.99M | -$40.20M | 45.6% | -$20.63M |
| AIVAPARTMENT INVESTMENT & MANAGEMENT CO | $138.49M | $547.16M | Unavailable | Unavailable |
| JAKKJAKKS PACIFIC INC | $113.25M | $9.87M | Unavailable | -$1.07M |
| CYTKCYTOKINETICS INC | $88.04M | -$784.96M | Unavailable | -$534.82M |
| CWGLCrimson Wine Group, Ltd | $65.08M | $613.00K | 47.2% | -$2.50M |
| DFLIDragonfly Energy Holdings Corp. | $58.63M | -$69.94M | 26.7% | -$27.92M |
| ALCOALICO, INC. | $44.07M | -$147.33M | -436.2% | $14.62M |
| FSIFLEXIBLE SOLUTIONS INTERNATIONAL INC | $38.52M | $786.89K | 32.6% | -$591.71K |
Showing the 40 largest by revenue of 53. Open the full list in the screener.
What this does not show
Receivables here are the reported balance, which is already net of the allowance the company has made for amounts it does not expect to collect.
The measures behind this
Accounts receivable Revenue Operating cash flow
Related findings
- Inventory going up while revenue goes down
- Three consecutive years of falling revenue
- Profitable on the income statement, burning cash in reality
Citing this
SequelSEC, “Collecting more slowly as sales decline”, 10 November 2026. https://sequelsec.com/findings/receivables-rising-as-revenue-falls
Figures are recomputed on every view from SEC filings, so a number quoted from this page should carry the date it was read.